Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago.[1] The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that are not easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of communicating with others, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose.
Native American rock painting close to Douglas, Wyoming, USA. One possible interpretation of this painting is: On the left side a group of United States Army soldiers with different insignia and on the right side Native Americans are shown
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:
Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces Pictographs - rock and cave paintings
In addition, petroforms and inukshuks are rock art made by aligning or piling natural stones. The stones themselves are used as large markings on the ground. Both petroglyphs and pictographs can be parietal, meaning on the walls of a cave or rock shelter, open-air (meaning they are made on exposed natural outcrops) or monument-based which are made on stones consciously deposited.
Painted Cave, Santa Barbara County, California
The earliest evidence of painting derives from archaeological sites in two rock-shelters in Arnhem Land, in northern Australia. In the lowest layer of material at these sites there are used pieces of ochre estimated to be 60,000 years old. Archaeologists have also found a fragment of rock painting preserved in a limestone rock-shelter in the Kimberley region of North-Western Australia dated at 40 000 years old.[12] Pigments from the "Bradshaw paintings" of the Kimberley are so old they have become part of the rock itself, making carbon dating impossible. Some experts suggest that these paintings are in the vicinity of 50,000 years old and may even pre-date aboriginal settlement.[13][14]
petroglyphs
inukshuks
Pinterest - petroglyphs and pictographs
Cave Paintings and Rock Art
Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago.[1] The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that are not easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of communicating with others, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose.
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:
Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces
Pictographs - rock and cave paintings
In addition, petroforms and inukshuks are rock
art made by aligning or piling natural stones. The stones themselves are used as large markings on the ground. Both petroglyphs and pictographs can be parietal, meaning on the walls of a cave or rock shelter, open-air (meaning they are made on exposed natural outcrops) or monument-based which are made on stones consciously deposited.
The earliest evidence of painting derives from archaeological sites in two rock-shelters in Arnhem Land, in northern Australia. In the lowest layer of material at these sites there are used pieces of ochre estimated to be 60,000 years old. Archaeologists have also found a fragment of rock painting preserved in a limestone rock-shelter in the Kimberley region of North-Western Australia dated at 40 000 years old.[12] Pigments from the "Bradshaw paintings" of the Kimberley are so old they have become part of the rock itself, making carbon dating impossible. Some experts suggest that these paintings are in the vicinity of 50,000 years old and may even pre-date aboriginal settlement.[13][14]
more Native American Rock Art
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